Someone worth dying for!
by FullSt0p
Summary: There were few things worth living for, but if it comes to dying for, he will find million things, and someone who worth dying for.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

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"The only person **worthy** of your love is not one who overstayed in the relationship without a single change, but one, who appeared like an angel, and used a single day to make a million change."

Michael Bassey Johnson, The Infinity Sign

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Returning to life, to a settled mind, sensible emotions, and his senses under control. All those unconscious thoughts fading up, a light growing brighter to shine into that dark place of his consciousness.

He believed he was **_waking up_**.

When waking up means the beginning of his worst nightmare, is it really a **_waking up_**?!

He blinked his eyes open heavily. _Why am I this tired_? Looking around him, he explored the place. Darkness engulfed him except for the light beams that passed through several bars at the bottom corner of the wall.

Moving his head was a grave mistake. That careless move had his head blowing in a sudden pain that spread over his skull, neck, and shoulders. It felt like somebody had smashed a brick on his head. The pain rapidly increased in severity. He closed his eyes tightly as a muffled groan escaped his mouth.

 _Stay steady until the pain fades!_ He thought to himself. Sitting handcuffed to a chair, he breathed deeply to calm the pain. He was reminding himself to keep his head fixed.

The blurred view around him began to be clear. Blinking his eyes a number of times made the scene around him visible. His chair was in the middle of the room and there were two other figures cuffed to chairs facing him. Closing his eyes for a moment then opening them again to clear them, he wished he had not. When he opened his eyes again the view in front of him beat the life out of him. Frightened, he gasped for breath and his heart skipped a beat. The scene in front of him forced him to ignore the pain that has plagued every cell in his body. He looked around and made sure that they were alone in that room. He returned his terrified eyes to look forward.

"Grace, Grace, answer me! Are you okay?" His heart shrank. He did not receive any answer for his terrified attempt. "Please wake up, Rachel, Rachel!" He called over to them softly as to not expose them. When his desperate attempts failed to wake them up, he shook his body strongly to get rid of his handcuffs. For his misery, they were holding onto his arms strongly. What he got was actually a sharp stabbing pain through each part of his body.

He leaned forward, moaning in pain as a wave of agony sweeps through his body. _What is happening?!_ He tried to recall what brought them there, but his mind was surging in a severe headache. _What is going on here?!_ His thoughts screamed, pleading for any answer.

He did not notice that he was rocking back and forth, moaning like a wounded animal, until a soft, terrified voice came to him. It was Rachel's. "You have to calm down, please. You're hurting yourself. Stop!"

Trembling, his body was soaked in sweat. That did not help him to follow her order, but her terrified voice made him summon the strength to raise his head and look into her eyes. "Rachel, you okay?" he asked. His voice came out shakier than he wished.

"Because of me they hurt you. I'm sorry. I should have listened to you," Rachel said. Tears covering her cheeks, she went into a fit of crying.

"Rachel, hey, it's ok. Look at me. Look at me, please! You should calm down." When finally she lifted her head and looked at him, fear filling her eyes, he asked, "Is Grace okay?" He looked between her and Grace, who was cuffed to a chair beside her mother.

"You've done whatever you can to ensure that. Physically, she's okay, but..." Her words faltered as she broke into a muffled sobbing fit.

"What happened? I can't remember anything," he asked hesitantly as he tries desperately to find out.

"They smacked you several times on the head until you lost consciousness," Rachel responded between her sobs.

 _No wonder I have this killer headache_ , he thought silently. "Would you please calm down and explain to me what is happening?"

A bright light invaded the room suddenly, blinding his eyes as the door behind him flew open. A deep voice reached his ears.

"You don't need to understand what is happening. Soon it will end for you," a man's voice came to him from the same direction. The man approached him from behind and stood just a foot behind him. The cuffed man felt a hand running through his hair, pulling it hard, jerking his head backward to explode another wave of pain into it. He closed his eyes tightly to ease the nausea that rushed through him with the headache that invaded his head. While breathing deeply to soothe his suffering, he heard, "You've been causing trouble since you came. Either you behave or I'll kill one of them to make you behave."

"What do you want from us?" he whispered, his voice trembling with outrage.

The man laughed sarcastically then said, "You're so confident. I don't want anything from you. What I want is to destroy someone, using you. I think you know him very well." A mischievous smile appeared on the man's face and his eyes sparkled with pure evil. He felt the man's grip on his hair loosen. That made his head set off a hell of a pain through it again.

It took a while until his erratic breaths finally calmed down and he was able to open his eyes. He searched around to find the man leaning in front of Rachel, her eyes wide with fear.

"If you touch her, I'll kill you with my bare hands, I swear!" He shouted angrily, trying too hard to break free of the cuffs.

The man turned and stared at him for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Really?! Do you think you can kill me in your state?"

"Listen to me. You can do whatever you want with me, but don't come near them." He felt weak. His angry stare showed it.

"And why do you think I'll listen to you?" Asked their abductor sarcastically.

Bowing his head, he took a deep breath then offered quietly, "I'll do whatever you want, just let them go."

"I told you before, I don't want anything from you." He paused to think for a second, then a nasty look appeared on his face. "You know, you gave me an idea." He smiled evilly then whispered to one of his men, who rushed out. A few minutes passed before he returned, carrying a camera.

"Mr. Roman, where do you want me to put it?" Roman pointed out a spot to him. It was in the opposite direction of their hostage's chair.

"I want you to record what I will do to our guy here. Make it clear," Roman ordered. "I want to show that bastard the consequences of his actions on his loved ones. And we will start the show with this asshole here."

Roman reached to stand in front of his hostage, then leaned close to look at his eyes. "You have agreed to fulfil whatever it takes, haven't you?!" Roman asked jokingly. "I'll torture you while that camera is recording without any resistance from you. After that, I'll make your friend choose who will die, and I think I know who he will choose. In case my believe scores, I'll send him this tape so he knows how much of a S.O.B he is and how much of an idiot you are. Maybe I'll make myself a copy too, to enjoy watching your arrogant behavior melting down."

The whole time Roman was talking, he was studying if there were any opportunities to escape this place. He sighed deeply. "Do whatever you want with me, just let them go."

"That will not happen." Roman simply smiled. He stood and moved away to take off his jacket, then rolled up both his shirtsleeves to his elbows.

"Please, not in front of her. She's just a kid. Don't make her watch this." He felt his heart breaking as he looked toward Grace.

"OK." Roman pursed his lips in disgust. "We'll turn her chair to face the wall, but you have to control your cries." He then instructed one of his men to turn Grace's chair around.

She started to wake up with the movement. When she realized what was happening, she began to panic.

"Mom, where are you?" she cried out.

"I'm here, honey." Rachel tried to move her head and look to Grace with no avail. "Are you ok?" she asked fearfully.

"Where are we? I'm scared. I want to go home," Grace bitterly said.

He wanted to assure her, to promise her that she will be safe and he will take her home, that everything will be ok, but he was not confident of his ability to fulfill that promise so he stayed silent. He had difficulty swallowing around the lump in his throat.

"Do not worry baby, this will end soon. Calm down," Rachel said despite the obvious desperation in her voice.

"Could you two stop this dramatic scene? I don't want you to ruin this video. Do you hear me? I don't want any sound from your side," Roman shouted and then said sarcastically: "Let's start the show!"

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

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 **Here we go! I wrote this story after a much shorter version of a dream since three months ago, but kept playing around until it ended up like this.**

 **I hope you like it! Please let me know what you think, because reviews mean happy moments, favorites are smiles, and follows are push to write.**

 **Hopefully, I will update twice a week on Monday and Friday.**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

 **Let's start the torture :)**

"I am not concerned that I have no place, I am concerned how I may fit myself for one, I am not concerned that I am not known, I seek to be worthy to be known" Confucius.

Three masked men surrounded his chair while their leader approached him, covering his own face with a mask too. Roman bowed to hold his hostage's face with his right hand, then angled his body aside to allow the camera to film the scene clearly.

He directed his speech to it. "Your psycho friend here has chosen to obey to whatever I want from him without any resistance, all in return for not approaching your precious daughter and ex-wife. While you chose to kill him, isn't that ironic!"

Steve felt his soul burn with shock. "What did you just say?" Steve whispered.

"I don't want to hear your voice until we finish," Roman threatened near Steve's ear, who could feel his breath on his cheeks. "Let's examine how much he will bear for you," he directed his words to the camera, then pointed to one of his men to bring him an oddly shaped tool.

Roman approached the camera and pointed the instrument in front of it, explaining arrogantly, "I'll tear into him until his screams for mercy reach you. You will watch it yourself detective." When he walked back near him, Steve's eyes widened in horror as he glanced at the tool. It looked like scissors, but instead of metal plates it had two twisted blades. They were daggers in a finger size.

Beads of sweat dropped down Steve's forehead as Roman put his hand on his shoulder. His eyes focused on the instrument and his body readied for what was to come. He thought he was ready! He felt his flesh tearing when Roman dug that tool deeply through his shoulder. He turned blind from pain as he clenched his lips strongly to prevent a cry from escaping his mouth. _Grace should not hear that!_ His muscles jerked to absorb the damage while his heart began beating so fast.

"This is impressive Commander. You're doing good now, but what if I open it like this?!" As he finished his word, Roman opened the scissors to tear Steve's shoulder apart.

Leaning forward in pain, Steve tried to breathe without any success. Blood poured heavily down his chest. His lungs struggled to inhale air through the pain.

All that pain was bearable compared to what he felt when Roman closed the scissors again and dragged them out. He felt like his soul ripped out with his flesh as his heart stopped beating for a moment, then returned to pounding against his chest rapidly. His hands shook in a failed attempt to get rid of their cuffs.

He shifted his body back in the chair and was now panting heavily to breathe through the pain. Instead, it increased to more severe level. The blood overflew weakened him and made a dark cloud engulf his mind. That prevented him from noticing one of Roman's men approaching him. The man poured alcohol on Steve's wound and it broke all of his brain's attempts to escape this hell. His body jumped and started shaking badly. Another guard approached, one of them grabbed him to secure him in his chair while the second applied a coagulant bandage to his injured shoulder. Steve breathed deeply, features showing the hell he was suffering without any mercy.

Roman approached him and grabbed his hair to drag his head back. He said sarcastically, "Do you still want to protect them?"

It took him several minutes to open his heavy eyelids and resist the dizziness he felt. "Until my death," he whispered weakly before closing his eyes again.

"You're pathetic if you don't know!" Roman said as he pushed Steve's head back, then looked toward the camera. "Your fool friend here thinks you'll appreciate his sacrifice, detective." He bent over Steve, speaking loudly, which increased the suffering man's headache. "I suppose you're a brave man, but your friendship with that bastard will cost you your life." He gave Steve a devilish grin, then added, "By the way, the same man you're sacrificing yourself for will choose your death."

"What are you talking about?" Steve whispered weakly, his mind trying to find a justification for what he just heard.

"Soon you will understand." Roman got up to his full length. Suddenly, Steve felt pain explode in his right side as his abductor thrusts the scissors again. Pushing his body against the chair to ease the pain, Steve felt ten times the pain he suffered before. His body pleaded for mercy and his mind tried desperately to find an escape from this hell. He kept reminding himself that Grace was with them in the same room. _This looks bad, but you can do it!_

All his attempts to resist collapsed at once when Roman opened the scissors, strongly tearing his abdomen. At that same moment, Steve's throat tore from the cry that escaped it, which went out as if it was ripped out of his soul within. Groaning unconsciously, he was only aware of that blade painfully digging into him.

"I want to hear more," Roman uttered mischievously.

Grace screamed with fear, "Uncle Steve are you okay?" When she did not receive an answer, she tried again, crying, "Uncle Steve, answer me please! What happened to you?" Her mother watched silently in horror.

Steve wished to answer her, to stop everything around him and tell her that everything will end soon. Instead, what she received as an answer was another tortured cry when Roman closed the tool and dragged it out abruptly to rip the remaining intact flesh in that region. His body jerked when its organs lost control. His lungs refused to respond to his attempts to breathe, his heart was beating to bust out of his chest, and his brain was looping in a cycle of pain. Moments passed like centuries, then his body languished, announcing his loss of consciousness, and escaping from this hell.

"Fix his wound, I still need him." Roman pointed to one of his men, then throw the scissors next to Steve's chair. He went out but stopped at the door. "When he wakes up, let me know."

One of the men bent down and took care of Steve's injury quietly, while the other spoke angrily, "I warned him not to go too far with this thing. How will he stay alive with this wound?" He pointed to the blood seeping from Steve's abdomen.

"I think he hit one of his arteries. He's bleeding too much and he won't survive if we don't stop it."

"Find a solution, you're the expert here," he said nervously.

Rachel eyes widened as she watched the scene, terrified over Steve's condition and what she heard.

"Mom, is Uncle Steve dead?" Grace's trembling voice came to wake her from her shock.

"He lost his consciousness, that's it. Don't worry, my dear, he's a strong man and will not give up easily," Rachel said while praying heartily to be rescued before Steve bled to death.

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

 **I hope you like it! Your thoughts mean a lot, so please keep reviewing.**


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

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'Obstacles are put in our way to see if what we want is really worth fighting for.'

\- Unknown

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Everything around him was hazy when he opened his eyes again. He could not distinguish if it was his mind that prevented him from focusing or if the problem was in his eyes. It took him several moments to clear the view in front of him. His body was tied to a chair in front of Rachel and Grace. They were also cuffed! He shook his head, resisting the dizziness. There was blood everywhere. The grip that caught his jaw harshly reminded him of where he was.

That voice again, "I see you've come back to the land of the living."

Steve looked to the man in front of him for a moment, then blinked heavily. "You mean land of assholes!" Steve said in challenge.

Roman laughed. "I see you've geared up some strength." He paused, got his phone out, and then dialed. "This is good, I want you to listen to this conversation with full consciousness." Roman winked mischievously to Steve. He was waiting for someone to answer the phone.

Steve moved his head to meet Rachel's eyes and asked anxiously, "Are you okay?" She nodded her head in despaired approval. Tilting his head toward Grace, he drew a smile on his torn lip. "Everything will be fine. I will get you out of here, I promise." She shook her head, tears flowing from her fearful eyes.

When Roman heard the other side respond, he began to speak. "Hello detective, it's been a long time."

"..."

"I feel flattered that you still remember my voice."

"..."

"Take it slowly, detective. You're still short-tempered, aren't you?" Roman's smile widened while Steve felt a knot forming in his stomach.

"..."

"But I have something that belongs to you. To be more precise, some people." He listened, waiting a few moments for a reply. When he did not have one, he continued, "What happened? Has the cat eaten your tongue?"

"..."

"Be careful of what you say and don't make me lose my temper. You will be the one who regrets that Danny, believe me."

"..."

"You'll know what I want in a moment. Hang on, I want them to hear your answer." He took the phone away from his ear and put it on speaker. "They can hear you clearly, Detective."

"Grace, are you okay?" Everyone in the room could hear Danny's frustrated voice. With that, Steve's heart shrunk as he folded his grip in anguish.

"Daddy help us please. I'm scared," Grace said in a trembling voice. It tore Danny's heart.

"Grace baby, I'll get you out of there, don't worry," Danny's voice shuddered, full of fear.

"My apologies to cut this emotional heart melting scene short, Detective, but I don't have a lot of time," said Roman.

"What do you want?" Danny angrily asked.

"What I want is to make you live through the same feeling you made me suffer. I'll make you regret everything you've done and wind around in a spiral of guilt for every coming moment of your life." Roman stopped for a moment to gather his thoughts, then continued, "When you killed my father and threw me in jail, you never thought that I'd come back for revenge. I lived in that prison, praying that I'd survive to destroy you like you destroyed my family."

"You want vengeance from me. They've got nothing to do with this. Let them go and I'll give myself up," Danny desperately attempted to bargain.

"Danny, don't do this, he's manipulating you." Steve received a slap from one of Roman's men to silence him. He groaned in pain.

"Steve!" Danny cried with fear when he heard a thud. "Steve, are you okay?" His voice trembled more than he wanted.

"Don't worry. He's alive for now, but I can't guarantee this for a long time." Roman stared at Steve in a clear threat.

"I'll do whatever you want, just let them go!" Danny desperately pleaded.

"I heard the same sentence from your friend a little while ago," Roman said sarcastically.

"They've got nothing to do with my work, Steve didn't even know me then," Danny explained with fear.

"It doesn't matter, what I care about is that they are your closest people and destroying them means destroying you."

"What do you want?" Danny whispered.

"This is the question that you should ask yourself: what do you want? Or to be more accurate, who do you want?"

"What the hell does that mean?" Danny asked nervously.

" That means that you will choose who will live and who will die!"

"No one will die," Danny shouted angrily.

"We will not reach anything this way, Detective." Roman paused to take a deep breath, then began to talk quietly, "It's very simple. You have three options: the first is to sacrifice Steve and keep your family alive..."

Danny interrupted him angrily, " That will never happen, you bastard!"

"Well, then, you may prefer the second option. Keep Steve alive and your lovely girls will die."

"What are you saying, are you crazy?! I swear if you touch them, I'll rip you apart!"

"I told you, we will not reach a solution this way, Detective. Listen and stop behaving like a kid. My men are directing their guns to your family's heads. Either you speak or they will kill the three of them." He laughed hysterically, then said, "I spontaneously announced the third option. Amazing!"

Danny's voice trembling with fear, he asked, "The third option is to kill all three of them?"

"You are intelligent as always, Detective."

"You can't do this. This is not fair!" Danny yelled.

"We do not have a lot of time, my trip is due within an hour. You should choose wisely Mr. Williams, though I prefer you choose the latter."

The room drowned in silence for a few seconds, quiet except for Grace's sobs and Danny's frightened breaths.

"Danny, choose your family." Steve swallowed with difficulty, then continued, "You know it's the right choice." He felt himself suffocating just to pronounce those few words and he sensed a heavy wall in his chest. But, what was happening to Danny killed him.

"I can't do this, Steve. Not to you." With tears in his voice, Danny said, "Please, I'll do anything but don't kill any of them," he tried again.

"I've made it clear what your options are and I'll give you only two minutes to choose. I won't accept any arguments after that."

"Daddy, please, I don't want to die here, do something!" Grace's cry destroyed any hope remaining in Danny's heart.

A minute passed without Danny uttering anything, fear swelling in his chest. His mind did not even dare to think about any options. While his pulse got faster and faster, the _seconds passed_ one by one.

"Danny, you're out of time to choose." Roman signaled to his men to be prepared. Two of them headed toward Rachel and Grace.

"I can't do this, you don't understand. I can't kill..."

"Danny, choose your family. You know I would do the same if it were up to me," honest words came from Steve's mouth as he watched Roman's men approaching Grace and Rachel.

"You are not helping me with this, Steve. You know how much you mean to me, how could I kill you?"

"I know this is hard for you, but it's Grace, Danny..." Steve stopped to slow down his irritated breaths. "Grace is worth more than me."

"Your time is out detective, what do you say?" the abductor asked angrily. When he had no answer from Danny, he pointed to his men. Each one of them waved his pistol to one of the three heads of the hostages.

"You son of a bitch, she's just a kid! Move your gun away from her!" Steve shouted angrily as he tried to get rid of his cuffs. A ragged cry escaped his throat when the man behind him directed his fist to Steve's ripped side. Leaning forward, he tried to breathe without success.

"Please, stop hurting him," Danny begged.

"I'll give you ten seconds to tell me your choice, when it ends I'll blow their heads off."

"Steve…" Danny's voice shuddered. "I swear I will never forgive myself for this. You do not deserve this at all." He lost it at that moment and began to cry. "You're the best man I have ever known in my life."

Steve closed his eyes and swallowed the lump in his throat as he listened to Danny's words.

"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry," Danny burst into tears.

"You've done the right thing. I'm not mad at you, partner," Steve whispered, tears flowing from his eyes.

"I want to hear your choice clearly, Detective," Roman said.

"Haven't you heard enough?" Danny responded angrily.

"Say your choice clearly, Detective."

"I choose for…" Danny's voice quavered and it took him moments to control himself, "my family to live."

"And?" Roman evilly asked.

"…and to kill Steve," Danny said through his sobs.

Steve felt his heart shatter at that moment. Then he heard a fearful cry from Grace: "Don't let them kill Uncle Steve!"

"We ended up with the same decision that I expected." Roman laughed sarcastically, and then said, "You will receive a video. I hope you enjoy it. At the end of it, you'll find the location of your daughter and ex-wife and your asshole friend's body. When you get there I will be long gone so don't waste your time trying to find me."

"You better disappear from this world, because when I find you I swear that I'll rip you apart!" Danny threatened in anger.

Hanging up the phone, Roman turned to his men. "We don't have a lot of time. Akamai, I'll let you get rid of Steve." He pointed to the other two men. "You two will handle the girls."

"What?!" Steve asked with a terrified voice. "He chose to kill me for their sake!"

"I lied. No one will live," Roman said recklessly.

"You cowardly bastard!" Steve shouted angrily as he tried to shake his chair to get rid of the cuffs, again to no avail.

"I have enjoyed hanging with you, Commander. See you in hell," Roman said while his men went to carry Rachel and Grace, who screamed with fear.

"Stop! Stop, you bastard." Screaming to try to stop them, he felt every cell in his body explode in anger from his weakness. Roman went out with his men, who hold Grace and Rachel up.

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Everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed I really appreciate your words and support and I hope you like it to the end. You gave me a lot of happy moments so thanks a lot.

My dear guest reviewers, I am sorry for not being able to replay to you, but honestly I am really glad to read your opinions.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

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"In the end we only regret the chances we didn't take,  
the relationships we were afraid to have and  
the decisions we waited to long to make..."

-Unknown

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His mind began to search for a solution quickly. He tried to remember everything he was trained for. Steve searched around for a way out. His eyes fell on the scissors next to his toes. Stretching his leg quietly, he dragged them underneath his foot.

He was approached by Akamai, who said sarcastically, "Don't worry, they will follow you soon." Steve looked at him angrily.

When Akamai bowed his head toward Steve, the latter head-butted him hard despite the piercing headache that erupted over his skull. As Akamai fell to the floor, Steve threw himself forward with the chair to meet the ground and destroy it. He moved his hand to take the scissors when Akamai jumped up and attacked him, punching every part of Steve's body. Steve felt his body break down with every punch, but the last cry of Grace was still haunting his ears, urging more adrenaline through his body. He summoned all his strength to raise his hand and dig the scissors into Akamai's neck, who rose up violently then stopped moving.

Steve took a few seconds to gather his breath, then moved Akamai's body away from him. He turned onto his stomach and braced on his hands to lift his body up. Screaming painfully, he resisted the dizziness that invaded his brain. Searching Akamai's body until he found his cell phone, he called the emergency department and informed them about their condition. He then continued his attempt to stand. When he finally got upright, he felt the floor rotate under his feet and fell face-first on the ground again.

He did not know how much time passed before he opened his eyes. Steve quickly absorbed the situation and crept toward the wall to stand against it, cursing himself for being weak. When finally he became able to stand, he paused a moment to make sure that the dizziness wouldn't make him lose consciousness again. Heading toward the door, he pressed on his stomach with his hand to try and stop the blood that was flowing again, sending a wave of pain with every pulse.

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The bright sunlight make his blue eyes water, so he shielded them with his hand. It took _his eyes some time to focus clearly after the deep darkness he had been held in_ _._ Bracing himself on the wall of the building, he walked slowly, trying not to fall. The pain spread through his entire body like molten lava, and the loss of blood made him feel weaker with every passing second. Still he sped up to save them, if they were still alive. They should not die, not the three of them at once. This would be too much for any human being to handle. How could this human being be his best friend, Danny?

He looked around as he tried to resist the increasing dizziness; every step forward was a fight. He fell to his knees in despair, the place empty except for him and the birds which sang above the ocean. Steve set his back up against the wall to catch his breath, then got up slowly.

When he heard the throb of a boat's engine coming from the other side, he turned to look for it, but there was a building blocking the view behind it. He was shocked by what he found when he finally turned toward it.

There was a large yacht crossing through the ocean, followed by a small boat carrying Grace and Rachel. His breaths accelerated as he tried to catch up to them before they got away. Suddenly, the boat stopped and Steve's eyes were riveted on the scene.

One of the men carrying a gasoline bottle poured it around Grace and Rachel, who were cuffed to the boat's gunwale, while the other turned off the engine, smiling slyly. After making sure the boat was covered with enough gasoline to burn it up, they climbed the yacht's ladder. One of them pointed for the captain to take off. Once the boat got several meters away, Roman threw a match inside the boat, laughing hysterically.

Fire broke soon as the match touched the boat's floor. Rachel and Grace tried to scream with all their power, but the sound of the moving yacht's motor hid those cries. Rachel turned aside to protect her daughter, but her cuffs prevented her from doing more.

Once Steve saw the scene, the adrenaline flowing in his body reached its highest level. He found himself running in spite of all the pain, then throwing himself into the water. His body was torn by the collision with the water, but he used all his training to ignore that and swim quickly toward the boat. Each meter he passed, the pain increased drastically. For a moment, he felt like his body would fall apart before reaching the boat, but the water flow helped him. It was pushing him away from the marina to move closer to the boat. When he reached the boat, he grabbed onto it as Rachel and Grace screamed in fear. They thought he was one of the hijackers. He pushed his body up to rise on the boat's frame, then fell in front of them.

Grace screamed with fear, "Uncle Steve, we will burn! Please, help us!" Her eyes filled with tears while her face was covered with black spots from the smoke.

Steve rose, bracing on his hands painfully, and looked around to study the situation. Fire broke out in the opposite part of the boat from them; it was approaching quickly. He leaned down to examine the cuffs surrounding their hands, then took a look around, hoping to find anything that could help him break them.

"Please, don't worry about me! Just help Grace, please!" Rachel pleaded with him, tears covering her cheeks.

Steve swallowed as he clenched his teeth angrily, then turned around and headed toward the helm of the boat that fire erupted around.

"You will burn Uncle Steve, no!" Grace said in horror.

Steve ignored Grace's cries. He covered his face with his hand, then ran ahead quickly, taking advantage of the water that covered his body to protect him from the heat of the flames. Shaking the helm strongly despite the heat that burned his hands, he broke it and returned to where Grace and Rachel were. The fire had approached and he began to feel its flame on his back. He hit the handcuffs that bound Grace's hands with the beam from the helm.

"You need to get out quickly, the fire is getting closer," Rachel begged.

Steve hit the cuffs one last time strongly to break them and with Grace's painful cry, she rushed to his lap with fear.

"I'm sorry, I know that was painful," Steve said as he patted her head tenderly. "You're good now, but we need to help your mother." Steve lifted her head to look in his eyes. "Jump in the water and hold onto the boat until I finish." Grace turned away and carried out what Steve said as she looked to her mother fearfully.

Steve approached to examine Rachel's handcuffs. He beat them with all his strength several times to no avail. Fire was biting his back, so he bowed forward.

"I don't think it will break before we burn up," Steve said as he looked into Rachel's eyes, panicking.

"Steve, you have done everything you can, please just save Grace," Rachel replied. Tears ran down her cheeks desperately.

"Neither one of you will die today. You hear me?! Not when Danny thinks that he saved you!" Steve looked around him and grabbed the empty gasoline bottle. He plunged it into the water to wash it, then returned quickly to sit in front of Rachel.

He took off his belt as he explained, "I will put the bottle on your chest and I want you to tighten your teeth and your lips around it with all your strength so no water will get inside. I will surround it by my belt around your neck to hold it in its place. Is that clear?" Steve clarified quickly while applying his plan. When Rachel followed what he said without hesitation, he continued, "I'm going to flip the boat to put out the fire so I can break these cuffs. After I flip the boat, I'll take Grace to the marina. I don't think she could handle swimming more. I'll come back to you after that, is it clear?"

Rachel nodded her head in agreement. Steve got up and went to the boat's side, then he jumped into the water. Pushing his body up and holding the boat's frame, as it started to shake, he cried, "Rachel, hold the bottle tightly!"

Steve turned to look at Grace's horrified face. "Grace, come and cling on my back. We need more weight to flip it. Push your body up when I do so."

Grace approached him and surrounded his neck with her hands, then they began to work hard. With each rise and drop the boat was twisting more while Steve's wounds were torn even more.

With their fifth drop the boat flipped upside down and Steve found himself directly beneath it. He looked to Rachel to verify that the bottle was allowing her to breathe. When she nodded, he rushed to come out from under the boat and then swim away toward the marina while he felt Grace's arms choking him. When they reached the surface, Steve felt his body falling apart for a moment, but sunlight brought him back to reality.

"Grace, I need you to swim beside me. I can't carry you anymore," Steve said. He was exhausted. Because of his efforts with all his injuries, he knew he would not survive more than a few more minutes.

When they arrived at the marina, Steve helped Grace climb up to the edge, then looked into her eyes and said firmly, "Grace, I'm going back to help your mother. Don't move from here no matter what happens."

"Please Uncle Steve, save my mother." Fearful tears flowed from her eyes.

Steve smiled as he tried to ignore the fear that filled his heart. "I promise, she will be back with you in a few minutes." Grace nodded her head confidently.

Steve swam back with more energy after Grace's words. When he arrived to the boat, he pushed his body to dive down. Rachel was there looking around in fear. He held his thumb up to her to ask if she was okay. When she bowed her head in agreement, Steve approached the gunwale that Rachel was constrained to and kicked it strongly to no avail.

He searched around and found a melting part of it which separated from the boat's frame. He pulled it violently to split it from the boat. The following three minutes, Steve worked hard until he felt himself suffocating. He went up to breathe, then returned to complete his work.

Another two minutes passed before he got to where Rachel was cuffed. He tugged on it strongly which made it break and flow away, pulling Rachel with it. Steve grabbed her tightly as he pulled her restrained hands out of it.

He raised his hand and pointed to her to ask if she could swim. She nodded her head, but something behind him drew her attention and her eyes winded with fear. Steve turned to look behind him and saw an approaching black mass. He looked back to Rachel and pointed her to swim towards the marina, then turned his body to find an image of a man being formed in front of him. It was one of Roman's guards.

Readying his body to fight, Steve knew his chance was dim with the fatigue he felt and the demand of breathing. He saw the man's fist heading towards his injured side and dodged away, then punched the man's face, who blocked it with his palm. His mind focused on one thing – _AIR –_ in spite of all his attempts to focus on the fight.

The guard moved his other hand toward Steve's face; this punch accurately hit its target. Steve felt the pain exploding in his brain and tried to control himself. _Focus on the fight!_

As he twisted, he saw the man's right arm extended to punch his stomach. He tried to catch it, but its thrust was much stronger. He felt a sharp blade penetrating his abdomen and all his attempts to endure fell away when a muffled cry came out of his chest, pushing out all the air he held in his lungs. The water began to drown him.

In the middle of that battle, the man yanked the knife from Steve's belly to blow the agony through Steve's body again. Steve was struggling to breathe to no avail. This time the pain was far greater than his ability to tolerate.

Roman's guard felt his fist loosening so he pushed it away, then braced on Steve's shoulders to push his own body up. Steve sunk down, swallowing a large amount of water despite his desperate attempts not to. He felt his lungs burn from that surprise attack, which replaced the air inside with water.

Moving his hands to swim up, the pain stopped him as blood flowed from him to stain the water around him with a crimson-pink color. Darkness attacked his mind violently so he surrendered quietly. _It looks like you are going to die in the end_.

His body languished as if he were sleeping on a bed of silk inside the expanding ocean.

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

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I hope you like it to this point, and I really don't have enough appreciation words to whoever support this story.

I didn't receive that much reviews, but at the end the words from anyone who spend time to write them means more than you can imagine, your favorites and follows mean happiness, so thanks to infinity.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

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'Imperfections are not inadequacies; they are reminders that we're all in this together.'

— Brene Brown

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Danny stopped his car forcibly, running towards the huge cloud of smoke that filled the sky. When he approached the marina there was a person; he was relieved to recognize that the person in front of him was Grace.

Running quickly towards her, he screamed, "Grace, Grace!"

When Grace heard her father's voice, she stood despite shaking badly, then ran to him and threw herself into his arms.

"Dad!" She was crying heavily, while Danny embraced her strongly as he rubbed her back, reassuring.

"It's all over, my baby," Danny whispered among his tears.

"Mom! Please daddy, save my mother and Uncle Steve." Danny's heart shrunk at Steve's name.

"Where is she?" Grace began crying hysterically. Danny grabbed her face gently in his hands. "Grace sweetie, calm down please. Where is your mother, Grace?"

"She's there under the boat. Uncle Steve went to save her."

Danny felt a wave of dizziness attacking his head and thought for a moment that Grace was hallucinating about Steve, when he heard a voice behind him. The two turned fearfully toward the water to see a face come out from under the water.

It was Rachel.

Danny moved rapidly toward the edge of the marina and lifted her up. As Rachel finally touched the ground, trembling, she threw herself into Danny's arm and sobbed.

Danny embraced her, his terrified voice babbling, "I'm sorry. All of this because of me, I'm sorry." Tears ran from his eyes profusely.

"Danny, you should save Steve, he needs help." Danny's eyes widened with fear.

"That bastard killed him because of me," Danny said, his voice cracking as he sobbed.

"No, he didn't. Steve just saved me. He's still stuck with one of them there." She pointed toward the boat.

Danny felt hesitant for a moment. He did not know if this was real or just an illusion.

Rachel grabbed his jaw strongly. "Danny quickly! He needs help."

Danny jumped into the water and swam quickly to where Rachel pointed. He dived and searched for his friend. Looking under the boat, he did not find anything. He turned to search in another place when he saw the red water around him. Danny's stomach dropped in fear as he moved towards the source of that colored water.

As he swam, the shape of a body began to appear in front of him, until he was able to touch it. For a moment, the world stopped turning and he felt the darkness envelop everything else when he recognized Steve's body sinking deep in the ocean, unconscious.

 _Wake up!_ He felt his mind screaming loudly and his body shuddered in unrivaled fear. Then he began to work quickly. Danny embraced Steve's relaxed body and swam towards the marina. When he reached the water's surface, he was hoping that Steve would start breathing.

All his hopes crashed and that made him paddle more quickly. When he got to the edge of the marina, he cried out for help, "Rachel, help me!"

Rachel approached them and slipped her arms under Steve's shoulders to try to pull him up. He was much heavier than she had imagined.

"Just try to secure him. I will come out to pull him." Danny pushed his body up, then he grabbed Steve's right shoulder and pointed to Rachel to pull with him. Once they dragged him out, the two rushed to perform CPR on him while Grace stood watching in horror.

"Come on Steve, please, don't do this to me. Come on!" Danny pleaded as he pressed on his friend's chest with trembling hands, tears covering his cheeks. "Not you please. I don't want you to die. I can't handle living without you!"

Danny completed a fifth cycle when he screamed in frustration, "Come on Steve!" He collapsed crying on Steve's chest. Rachel continued blowing air into Steve's mouth.

After the second puff, his body rose up and water began flowing from his mouth.

Danny moved quickly and turned him to his side, watching fearfully as his friend threw up water. He waited until Steve began coughing with dry heaves to flip him back onto his back. Sirens echoed out in the distance as Danny held Steve's hand gently.

"Steve, are you with me, buddy?" Steve moved his head from side to side with closed eyes, trying to absorb what was going on around him. "Steve, help is coming. Please, stay awake for a little bit."

"Danny!" Steve whispered with a hoarse voice.

"I'm here, babe. You will be fine soon, just bear it a little."

Steve suddenly tried to push his body to a sitting position, his eyes widened in horror. "Grace! You should save Grace." He clutched his abdomen in pain when blood returned to flow profusely from his wounds.

"She's fine. Calm down, you're causing your body more damage!" Danny pressed on his shoulder to make him lie back. "Steve, stop resisting! You're hurting yourself."

Steve shut his eyes tightly as the pain rose to a much higher degree. A muffled scream tore from his mouth as he tried hard to alleviate the suffering in his abdomen. Danny pressed his hand on the wound to stop the bleeding while Steve moved to push it away, groaning heavily.

It took his mind only a few moments to be engulfed by darkness again. The last thing he heard was Danny's frightened scream.

"No! No! STEVE!"

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

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I know it is too short, but I felt that I need to make a cliffhanger! (Evil grin)

I hope you enjoy what is going here, and I am really happy with the overwhelming response to the last chapter. I was in a haven from your great words, so thank you and keep it up please.

For all the guests who reviewed, thank you to infinity, I have no choice in responding to you but hopefully you will accept my gratitude.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

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" **Find precious peoples worth dying for, then live for them."**

 **~Unknown**

* * *

Inside and out, there was only one thing: quiet. A steady, continuous beeping breaks it up every once in a while. Darkness added an additional calm to his surroundings.

His mind began to work and consider to his situation slowly, though he was not able to move any part of his body. Everything was at rest.

Opening his eyes to explore his surroundings, he saw there was nothing but darkness that has been cracked by a little light beam from whatever was making that sound.

Nobody.

That was extremely exhausting, so he closed his eyes and surrendered to the darkness again.

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

"Steve..." He heard a voice. He wanted it to fade away, but it returned to say again, "Steve! Can you hear me?"

Steve opened his heavy eyes tiredly, but they were too foggy to allow him to recognize anything in front of him. He closed them again and blinked several times until the view became clear.

An unfamiliar hovered beside him. He looked around to find himself surrounded by white walls; there were multiple devices attached to his body.

"How do you feel?" The question brought his attention back to the person standing next to him.

"I feel thirsty," Steve whispered.

He brought a cup of water to Steve's mouth, allowing him to drink a bit before pulling it away.

"Don't drink too much. Your stomach can't handle this yet." A confused look appeared on Steve's face, "I'm the physician responsible for your care. My name is Liam. You were admitted to the hospital five days ago due to your injuries and suffocation from almost drowning."

Steve closed his eyes as he tried to remember what happened, swallowing hard. "Do you remember what happened?" the doctor asked. Steve nodded his head in reply. "Your condition is stable for now and I hope it remains so," the doctor said as he recorded several observations on Steve's file.

"There was a little girl with me..." Steve hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Is she okay?"

"You mean Grace?" Steve nodded in agreement. "She's okay. She's come to visit you for the past few days and spends the visiting hours talking to you." He paused to write something, then added, "Her father was with her too. He spends the whole day beside you."

"Danny?" Steve asked eagerly.

"I think he'll be happy to see you awake. I've asked him to wait outside until I finish your examination." He gave Steve some time to absorb what he had said then started to explain: "Steve, I want you to listen carefully. Your condition is stable now, but the wound in your belly has not healed yet. It was deep enough to injure your intestine. We repaired what we can repair, but any violent movement may open it again and I don't think you would like to do so. You must stay in the bed without any sudden movements until I tell you otherwise. Is that clear?"

"What about my other wounds?" Fatigue was obvious on Steve's face.

"Thank God whoever did this to you didn't want to cause a lot of damage, otherwise you may have ended up dead a long time ago. The wound in your shoulder cut through the entire muscle, but didn't reach the bone which is a good thing. We have fully treated it and I think it will heal soon, just try to rely on your left arm so you don't put any pressure on it." Liam waited until he received a nod from Steve, then continued, "The wound in your side was more serious. It had torn one of your arteries, leading to you losing a lot of blood as well as injuring your right kidney. There are no complications at the moment but as a precaution, we inserted a catheter so there will be no pressure on your kidney."

The doctor sighed deeply. "You're also suffering from a concussion from the many blows to your skull, and there are several superficial burns on your back and second-degree burns on your hands. All of this, plus the bruises in different parts of your body that were caused by the beating your body received."

"How did I manage to stay alive?" Steve smiled tiredly. He received a chuckle for that. He remembered something at the mention of his burns. "Rachel? Is she ok?"

"Yes, she's okay. She's suffering from second-degree burns to her left arm, but nothing difficult for a plastic surgeon to fix." The doctor smiled at Steve, who sighed in relief. "I'll leave you tor rest now, and I hope you follow my orders strictly."

"Thank you, Doctor," Steve said politely, then closed his eyes. The day's events were circling in his mind and he was anxiously waiting to see Danny.

Several minutes passed without anybody entering his room. He felt tired from resisting the sleepiness that attacked him so he surrendered to the darkness, which engulfed his mind faster than he imagined.

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

A hand touched his from moment to another. There were whispers that hesitated around him. His mind began to awaken. Those whispers were familiar. He tried to absorb what was going on around him.

He opened his eyes to find a shadow leaning in front of him. Blinking them rapidly, he finally was able to recognize the figure. It was Grace.

"Uncle Steve! Mom, Uncle Steve is awake." Steve felt a stabbing headache attack his mind from Grace's high voice. He shut his eyes in pain. "I'm sorry. Uncle Steve, did I hurt you?" Grace whispered fearfully.

When Steve opened his tired eyes next, they shined with joy. He whispered gently, "Grace!" while extending his left hand to tenderly hold hers. "Are you ok?"

She nodded her head, tears filling her eyes. Steve gestured for her to sit beside him on the bed.

Rachel approached, smiling at Steve. "Commander, welcome back," she said in a soft voice. "I don't know how to thank you enough. You've done a lot in order to save Grace and me. I owe you my life."

"That's my duty, Rachel. No need for thanks." Steve smiled gently, then returned his attention to Grace, "You know, you were very brave back there. I'm proud of you."

Tears started flowing from her eyes as her body trembled badly. Steve felt his heart tear with fear and his smile faded rapidly. "

What's wrong?" Steve grabbed her jaw to raise her head and look in her eyes. "Grace, what's up?"

"I thought you died there," she gasped with fear. "I do not want you to die. I love you so much, I don't want to lose you." With that, Grace went into a crying fit. Rachel came near them, but Steve held up his hand to stop her.

"Grace, kiddo. Look at me, I'm fine now. No need for all this fear." Steve looked towards her and realized that words would not change what had happened. "Come here."

He pulled her into a hug. While burying her face in his chest, she cried with fear. Steve rubbed her head and back gently while repeating, "It's over. We're fine now." Several minutes passed before Grace's irritated breaths subsided, but she remained tucked against Steve tightly. She was afraid to leave him. He may disappear!

Rachel approached them and whispered to Grace, "Grace, Uncle Steve is still injured and in pain. What do you think about sitting next to him instead of cuddling him?"

Steve tightened his arms around Grace and looked to Rachel. "Please, I need this too."

Rachel nodded her head, then said, "I will leave you for a while. I'll be outdoors with Danny in case you need something."

"Danny?" Steve whispered, then moved his gaze away from Rachel. No need to show her the sorrow in his eyes.

"Steve, I know this is hard for you, but he can't face you right now. The guilt he's feeling killed everything in him. I think when he chose to kill you that day, he killed himself as well," Rachel explained sadly. When she did not receive an answer from Steve, she left quietly. Steve embraced Grace tighter and closed his eyes as he tried to forget all that had happened, all that was happening.

When visiting hours finished, Rachel returned to take Grace. She found her sleeping between Steve's arms, who was sleeping as well. She went out and headed towards Danny, who sat next to Steve's room.

"She's asleep in Steve's arms. I don't want to wake them up, is it possible for you to carry her to the car?" Rachel asked Danny, who looked at her with a pale face, dark circles surrounding his eyes.

"Danny, he's hurt from your actions," Rachel explained.

"He better be asleep!" Danny whispered, clenching his teeth as he passed beside her.

Entering the quiet room, he felt his heart wrench when he saw Steve with Grace sleeping quietly on his chest. Danny approached and leaned down to carry Grace away, but Steve's arms tightened as if he were trying to cling to her.

Danny relented and wiped his face. Trembling, he cursed himself for what he had done to Steve. _See how he is trying to protect Grace even in his sleep and you choose to kill him!_

He felt tears burn his eyes, so he decided to act quickly. Grabbing Steve's arm, he gently pulled it up. When Steve tried to push it back toward Grace, Danny whispered, "Steve, it's me. No need to worry." Danny felt Steve's arm relax, and he quietly stood up while gently lifting Grace.

When Steve felt Grace's body being lifted away from his chest, he opened his heavy eyes with a terrified look on his face.

"Danny!" Steve whispered when he saw Danny holding Grace. As his mind made sure that danger was far from Grace, he closed his eyes and surrendered to sleep again while tears dropped from Danny's eyes, who closed them angrily. Danny tightened his hold on Grace, and tried to get as far away as possible from this room, from this universe

 **H5H5H5H5H5**

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I hope you like it, there is still one chapter to the end!

I'm not sure if it's worth it or not, but I worked hard on this story and unfortunately it didn't receive the response I were expecting.

Thanks to infinity for everyone who gave me from his time and supported me with review, comment, follow or favorite, these things are the energy that makes me write.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing but the plot.

Beta'd by the amazing **Uneasybreezy**. There are not enough words to describe how thankful I am for her great help.

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"One of the hardest decisions you'll ever face in life is choosing whether to walk away or try harder."  
― **Ziad K. Abdelnour**

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The nurse rushed out from Steve's room, passing by Danny who followed her anxiously.

"Is everything alright?" When he did not receive any reply he asked again, "What's wrong? What happened?"

"I think Steve's developing an infection. He's not responding to me. I will call his physician to come and check on him," the nurse explained rapidly then picked up the phone to dial Steve's doctor.

Danny stood there shocked for a moment from the sudden change in Steve's condition. Just a few hours ago, the doctor had told him that he was improving.

He walked quietly back to Steve's room, getting inside to sit beside his friend. He trembled in fear as he saw how pale Steve was. For a moment, he wanted to stand and run away from the room, but for some reason he found himself holding Steve's hand gently. It was radiating heat. There were sweat droplets on Steve's forehead, too.

Sadly, Danny spoke, "Hey buddy..." his voice cracked at that. He could not pretend. Taking a deep breath, he tried again, "Steve, you can hear me?"

There was no response to his try. He rubbed his own eyes to clear his vision when suddenly Steve's hand tightened around his. He looked up to find Steve frowning in pain.

"Steve, buddy, what's wrong? What hurts?" There was another squeeze to his hand. "Babe, please, can you hear me?" The door behind him opened and he saw the doctor coming in, followed by Steve's nurse. They checked him, concern clear on their faces. "Doctor, what's wrong with him?"

"Give us a minute, Detective!" Steve's doctor gestured for him to move back.

As Danny stepped back, his hand was pulled back by Steve's. He leaned forward to whisper, "Buddy, you can hear me?" He received a soft groan for that. Looking toward the doctor, he asked, "Why is he in so much pain?" A terrified look appeared clearly on his face.

"He's developing sepsis, we should transfer him to isolation ICU now!" Liam instructed as they worked rapidly to move Steve.

A hoarse whisper interrupted their move. "Danny!"

Danny's head turned in shock as he heard his name. He saw confused eyes looking toward him. The blond man froze for a moment in disbelief, then quickly leaned near his friend. "What hurts?"

"I can't breathe!" He tried to inhale air into his suffocating lung. "My heart is killing me!" With that, every monitor that was attached to his moving bed started to produce a high noise.

"He has tachycardia and his pressure is starting to drop down. We need to settle him in the room now!" the nurse shouted as they ran, pushing Steve's bed rapidly through the corridor.

The grip around Danny's hand tightened and he heard Steve's voice pleading through intermittent breaths, "Danny, do.. n't lea… ve…" He was struggling to inhale, but the Seal was stubborn enough to finish his sentence. "No avo.. idi.. ng…"

Steve shut his eyes in pain when a sudden spasm ran through his body.

"Detective, I'm sorry, you need to wait outside!" Steve's nurse pointed him out as they reached the ICU room. The door closed in front of him as his heart shrank with fear for his partner's situation. He found himself sinking to sit on the ground desperately.

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

 **Two days later.**

Kono's voice was the first thing that reached his ears when he awoke next. There was Chin's too. They were whispering something he could not understand.

He tried to observe his surroundings before opening his eyes. He listened for the voice he was desperate to hear, but heard nothing. _Did he leave again?!_ He thought to himself. Opening his eyes slowly to collide with the bright light, he found himself closing them again. A soft moan left his mouth.

And there it was: "Steve? You're with us?" Danny asked.

"Hey boss, you should stop scaring us. I know you can hear me." A light smile appeared on his lips for Kono's comment.

He blinked his eyes open to find their faces leaning toward him. After a deep breath, he said, "Hi there." His voice was hoarse enough to stun him.

"So, we left you for a while and you decided to land yourself in a hospital as punishment?" Chin said sarcastically.

"How do you feel boss?" Kono asked warmly.

"I'm fine," Steve answered, to which Kono laughed.

"Believe me, this is not the meaning of fine," Chin added as he chuckled.

Steve's smile widened with joy, then he turned his head to look toward Danny, who avoided Steve's eyes by watching Kono and Chin silently.

He returned his gaze back to the cousins. "Why did you cut your trip short and come back?"

"We didn't want to miss seeing you in a hospital gown," Kono winked at him. "Unfortunately, when we arrived we found you in these nice pants, shirtless!"

"Next time, I'll make sure to wear the gown to satisfy you," Steve teased her back.

"No next time, that will satisfy me more," she countered gently.

"That's a good point cousin," Chin supported her as he looked toward Danny, who was in another world.

"I will take that into consideration," Steve sighed deeply as he tried to adjust his body on the bed. The pain started to announce its presence. "What happened?"

After a moment of silence, Chin noticed Steve's tired features and his sad glance toward Danny, who kept quiet. He explained jokingly to cool the building tension, "As a superhero, it was not enough for you to nearly die once so you tried it again!"

"Really?!" came a shocked question from the injured Seal.

"Yeah," Chin sighed deeply, then continued, "You developed sepsis. Your heart decided that it's better to race with the wind instead of pumping regularly to compensate for your dropped blood pressure. Then, your whole body went crazy with a list of serious problems that ended up with you flat-lining."

Steve nodded even though he was still confused by what he heard.

Kono brought him a glass of water. "Try to drink a little." Steve obeyed, slowly sipping from the offered glass as she sits beside him.

The two of them spent the next few minutes mocking around until Chin interrupted,

"Kono, I think Steve needs to rest now. We'll come back to check on you later bro." Chin exchanged a look with Kono, pointing toward Danny then they stood to leave.

"What's the rush?" Steve wondered.

"Sorry bro, but when we knew about you, we came directly from the airport to here. We need to clean up and then we'll come back."

"When I come back later you should be prepared for me, boss," Kono said as she leaned down to kiss his forehead.

They left and with that, the room fell silent. His heart beat sound from the monitor was the only thing to distract him from his crowded thoughts. Each passing minute increased the tension in the room.

"You know, maybe it would have been better if I died that day," Steve said, which made Danny's head snap toward him in shock. "At least I would be sure that I died having a brother on my side." The frustration was clearly audible in Steve's voice.

Danny's head fell forward as he breathed heavily. "I have no right to be at your side anymore."

"Why are you here then?" Steve's angry reply hit Danny's soul deep down.

He stood, ready to leave when another hit was announced,

"So, now you want to run away and avoid me again?!" The hurt in Steve's voice was clear enough to make Danny curse himself thousand times. "You know what? It's okay, nothing unusual. What makes you different from all the other people in my life who just run away! I shouldn't blame you for me putting big expectations on you. Just do me a favor please, and don't pretend to care by sitting outside my room."

The injured seal was tired enough to release all his emotions at once as he gestured with his hand in frustration. After a few moments of irritated breaths, he said quietly, "Sorry, but if you don't mind I want to be alone." With that, Steve turned his face away from Danny and shut his eyes in the hope of returning to his dark hole.

The shock was clearly written on Danny's face. He had never thought about it like that. Silently, he walked toward the door and grabbed the knob,

"You think this is easy for me?" It was a wonder more than a question. "I chose to kill you, Steve!" He swallowed with difficultly. "I watched him torturing you as you tried to protect my daughter. I watched that tape after I chose to kill you." The tears in his voice made Steve turn to look at him again. "You imagine how much of a bastard I am!" He turned to look toward his injured friend.

His voice trembled badly as he continues, "I wished that I died a thousand times rather than living through that moment. I wished that I'd never met you, rather than putting you in that place. I want you to know that I'm really sorry," With that, his tears started flowing heavily. He opened the door to get out, to run away from all this. When he chose to kill Steve, he knows that he lost him forever, but this, this was a hell.

"Danny, wait!" Steve sighed sadly. "You should sit," he pointed to an empty spot beside him. He could not stop himself as his heart melts for his friend's condition.

Steve watched silently as Danny sobbed in frustration. "Please Danny, come here. You should sit,' he said as he extends his hand to grip Danny's arm, who disparately obeyed.

"I couldn't even help when you drowned. Could I be more pathetic?!" He gestured with his hand in frustration. "It's a living hell. I can't block the looping images of you dying from my mind." His body shuddered badly as he sobbed. "Steve, you almost died because of me! And you want me to be at your side, pretending that nothing happened?"

"You had no choice in that," Steve said, this time his voice calm and clear.

"I had the choice, and you know what? I chose to kill you!"

Pulling Danny's hand, Steve pressed it to the side of his neck. "You feel it, right?"

Danny nodded slowly, his face showing a mixture of guilt and a hint of confusion. "Your pulse?" he questioned.

"I haven't died, Danny. I'm here, I'm fine, and my heart is still beating! So, stop blaming yourself for something you had no hand in," he squeezed Danny's arm more strongly as he explained.

Danny's gaze shifted away as he swallowed the growing lump in his throat. "You have to be mad at me, I don't deserve this kindness." He thought for a moment about his next statement, then completed: "I betrayed you like the others. I chose to exchange you for someone else. Even if that someone was Grace, who means everything to me, it doesn't make me feel any better." When he looked back to Steve, a sharp gaze welcomed him.

Steve's body grew stiff and his shallow breaths described his feelings clearly. When he talked next, his voice was full of sadness. "Am I such a jerk that you believe I would prefer that you choose me over your family?"

His eyes spoke about how vulnerable he was at that moment. Steve's emotions were clear, and it made Danny shudder.

Another few moments passed without any word being spoken. Tension returned to fill the room.

"Steve, I didn't mean it that way."

Nothing. Steve did not move for that. The only movement was from his chest, inhaling deeply to catch his intermittent breaths.

"I know you are a damn hero who is willing to sacrifice himself to protect anyone without considering the cost he will pay for that." Danny paused, picking back up his thought. "That doesn't make it any easier for me. When I chose to kill you, I knew that I had killed the best man I have ever known. All I could think about was: how could I have done that to you? After everything we have being through, how could I betray you like that?" He shut his eyes as he whispered his last question.

"I never thought that I'm the best man you have ever known!" Steve drew a genuine smile on his goofy face; it reached his eyes. "No wonder you feel all this guilt," he joked to ease the tension as he pushed Danny's shoulder lightly.

The shorter man's mood stayed woeful.

"Danny, look at me please." When his friend finally shifted to meet his eyes, he continued sadly: "I know how you feel, believe me." Steve sighed deeply as he spoke.

"When I left Freddie, I felt the same." A tremble in Steve's voice cut deep in Danny's heart. "I keep asking myself how I could have done that. I keep wondering what could have happened if I had stayed with him, but no matter what, this will not change what happened."

He shut his eyes to collect himself, then completed as he opened them: "Believe me Danny, you're lucky enough to not live with the aftermath. I'm still alive, and you don't have to wonder how it could be better because in the end, all of us ended up fine." He looked sincerely to his friend as he finished, "Danny, please, I don't want…I can't lose another brother. Let's put what happened behind us, and you can return to being my annoying partner."

"I'm sorry for hurting you so much and for being such an asshole by avoiding you like that. I swear to God I didn't mean it. I just couldn't look at you knowing that everything that happened to you was because of me."

"What did I just say about being an annoying partner? Stop being so emotional. I never hear all these apologies from you. It makes me wonder if we need to check your brain!" He received a shy smile from Danny. "Come on buddy, let's put an end to your guilt. I promise I'm not mad and I'll never be mad at you for making the right decision. Instead, I'm grateful for Grace being fine."

His next statement was enough to end the weird situation between them. "I've never had such a family Danny, and I'll die happy if my death means this family's safety."

He wiped his face with a hand to ease the embarrassment he felt. "Hearing those words should make you grateful for what happened, I've never expressed my emotions this much. You know that I have an issue discussing personal matters, so after making myself exposed like this, you should at least wipe that sad look off your face and start your bantering. I know there must be something you want to shout at me for."

There was a chuckle, and Steve's smile widened to hear it finally. "You're an idiot, you know that?" Danny said as he wiped his tear-covered face.

They exchanged a glance of respect and gratitude for being there for each other.

After another minute, Danny returned to his normal personality, making Steve roll his eyes in amazement. "Can you please explain to me how you managed to develop sepsis even though you're in a hospital?"

"Here we go. That's the real Danny I know!" Steve said happily as he raised his body to pull his friend into a genuine hug. "I couldn't wish for a better partner."

"Don't think this will make me forget my question," Danny chuckled as he tightened his grip around his injured friend.

 **The end.**

 **H50H50H50H50H50**

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I hope you like it!

We reached the end in no time! The funny thing is that I spend one month writing the previous chapters and four months writing this chapter, and until the last moment I keep changing it (I'm not sure if it's good or not but if I keep modifying it, this story will never end.)

I have no enough words to thank each and every one of you, who supported me to continue writing, especially after the previous chapter. For all the guests who left me an amazing words that made my last week, I really appreciate what you have done, so thank you to infinity, and my apology for not being able to reply directly to you.

Thanks for passing by this story, I hope you have enjoyed it.


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